


take it from an old man

by orphan_account



Series: deliciously difficult (damerey fic) [3]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Everybody Lives, F/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers, domestic fluff with a side of flangsty reminiscing, the self-indulgent Rebelcaptain/Damerey crossover that no one asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:42:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22035742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: In need of some advice, Poe enlists the help of a few old friends.(Or: Jyn and Cassian are the best/worst wingmen.)
Relationships: Cassian Andor/Jyn Erso, Poe Dameron/Rey
Series: deliciously difficult (damerey fic) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1583491
Comments: 11
Kudos: 80





	take it from an old man

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this will probably not turn out as well as I wanted it to, but if the idea of "everyone lives" AU Jyn and Cassian growing old together doesn't melt your heart, I don't know if you even have one. Takes place in the same continuity as "I could lose my heart tonight". 
> 
> (Additional note: a lot of people who write this kind of fic portray them as contemporaries and friends of the OG Damerons, so I kind of latched onto that idea. Thus, their families are old friends here, hence the postwar visit, and also hence Poe asking them for advice.)

This _should_ be easy – pleasant, even. After all, some of Poe’s earliest memories are of this very room, these very people. Visits from the Andors – longtime family friends and colleagues of his parents’ – were always a cause for excitement when he was young. But now, sitting across the living from from a characteristically stone-faced Cassian Andor with thoughts racing through his mind at breakneck pace, he’s…nervous. And that nervousness is only compounded by the fact that absolutely nothing escapes Cassian’s vigilant observation.

“What’s going on with you, Poe?”

“Uh…nothing. Nothing’s going on. I’m…great,” Poe stammers. _Great, Dameron, great. All those years on undercover missions and you_ still _can’t lie?_

Cassian sighs – a _nice-try_ gesture, more than anything – and leans back into his armchair. He seems… _relaxed,_ which is a strange look on someone so serious. “You’re nervous. Why?”

“Um.” He might as well get it out with, now that Rey’s gone off with Jyn doing who-knows-what. “I had…a question.”

“I can see that.” Cassian nearly smiles. “Go on.”

“It’s about Rey.” He’s surprised to find that his face is a little flushed. “Well. I mean, the question isn’t, but it’s related, and I…um.”

“Poe, you’re rambling-“

“How did you propose to Jyn?” he blurts out, almost certain that his face is visibly crimson now. When Cassian doesn’t answer, he tries again. “I mean. When you asked her to marry you. How’d you do it?” He pauses for a moment. “How do _I_ do that?”

This time Cassian _does_ smile. “Ah. That explains the blushing.” (Poe wants to deny that, but he knows he truthfully can’t.) “Have you told your father about this?”

“Yeah, and got ‘you’ll know what to do when the time is right,’ which helps…not at all. Hence the need for a second opinion, since I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing,” Poe admits. “She’s not really the romantic type, so I’m pretty sure that half of the ideas I’ve had would probably be more likely to freak her out than anything else. And-“

“You’re asking me because you think _I_ knew what I was doing?” Cassian shakes his head in amusement. “Hate to break it to you, but…I-“

“Definitely didn’t.” Jyn enters from the kitchen and leans in the doorway, hands on her hips, smirking fondly. “I don’t even think he’d been planning to. Really, it was the most un-Cassian-like thing I’ve ever seen him do. Why, you thinking about asking Rey?” 

Poe nods, his expression approximately resembling that of a dying fish. _If Jyn’s back, that probably means Rey’s back, and she heard all of that, and I really wouldn’t mind being swallowed by the ground right about now-_

“Lower your voice, Stardust,” Cassian tells her, trying to sound irritated but unable to fight the smile from his features. “ _Some people_ want this kind of thing to be a surprise.” 

“You say that as if being asked if I’d marry you while we were _running for our lives_ wasn’t surprising!” Jyn shoots back, only slightly lowering her volume.

“ _That’s_ how you asked her?” Poe can’t help but grin.

Jyn nods, and Cassian crosses his arms defensively. “In my defense, I thought we were going to die at the time.” Jyn shoots him a prompting look. “I think she wants me to tell you not to do what I did.”

“Well, looks like we’re done running for our lives at the moment, so that should be easy.” They all pause at that – it’s a foreign sentiment for three people who’ve spent most of their lives outrunning whatever danger lies behind.

The whole situation is, really.

“I think you’ll know what to do in the moment,” Jyn says rather unhelpfully, but Poe’s already leaving the room. Something about what he’d said strikes him – they really _are_ done running, at least for now. (Maybe – hopefully – forever, though it’s anyone’s guess where life might lead them next.)

He’s been given a chance that so many others weren’t. And it’s about time he take it. 

* * *

They linger there long after Poe runs off to who-knows-where. Jyn's a little worried that they've inspired him to blurt out the question of the hour at the first possible opportunity, romantic or not, but she can't help but smile. It's odd and a little surreal seeing the boy they've known since infancy starting a family of his own; it makes her feel old, if she's being honest. _Old -_ now _that_ is a word Jyn never expected to be able to use to describe herself. And yet...here she is. She stands in the doorway, looking out at nothing in particular, letting her mind roam over old memories, things she finally has time for now that it's all over and they can breathe again. Cassian joins her after a moment, settling his chin against the top of her head as he wraps her up in his arms. 

"What are you thinking about?" he asks. Even a few years ago, he never would've asked that question; peace has changed them both. 

"How strange this all is," Jyn replies, leaning into his embrace. "Poe, getting married. Us, getting _old."_

"We're not old yet, Stardust," Cassian chuckles. "And we've got a long ways to go before we are."

"Fifty-seven and sixty? For rebels, that's old as dirt." Jyn can't help but smile a little at that. "We're lucky." 

"Ah. That we are." Cassian presses his lips to the crown of her head. They really are - every mission that could've ended in disaster, every brush with death, every tearful reunion has led back to this. Growing old together. Visiting old friends (with another visit on the horizon, if that difficult boy ever gets himself together for long enough to ask for Rey's hand).

Jyn breaks the silence after a moment. "What are the odds he actually asks?" she ventures. 

"K would probably put them in the single digits." Cassian rolls his eyes. "Personally, I'd choose to be a little more optimistic." 

(He's very grateful that their saucy mechanical companion is off running errands with Kes and not here, scaring Poe with statistics regarding the likelihood of his ever managing to propose.)

"He'll do it eventually. Even you did." Jyn smirks. 

"You're still on that?" 

"I'll always be on that, Cass." Jyn turns and kisses him ever-so-briefly. "Want to go see if he's done it yet?" 

"I thought our espionage days were over, Stardust." Cassian runs his thumb along her jawline. 

(Sometimes, when they're close like this, he forgets to believe that she's real. This is one such moment.) 

Jyn turns, grabbing his hand and yanking him from the room before he has a chance to protest. "Maybe, but now we get to be nosy grandparents!" 

"Nosy grandparents," he chuckles. "Well, then." 

This wasn't in any plan he's ever had for the future. But he'll take it with open arms. 

* * *

It's rarely hard to find Rey; when she has a free hour, she's taken to sitting out by the Force tree, sleeping or meditating or sketching (he's discovered that she has an entirely unexpected fondness for drawing). This time, she's leaning against the tree, lost in thought, as Poe approaches. "Hey, Sunshine." 

"Mm?" Rey mutters, blinking a few times. "Oh. Hello." 

He takes a seat beside her. "What were you thinking about?" 

"Oh, nothing." She bites her lip, smiling to herself. "I thought you were with Cassian."

He leans across, his eyes sparkling. "What, would you prefer that I left?" 

"No!" Rey snatches his free hand and clings to it. "No. Stay." 

"If you insist, Sunshine," he teases, leaning against her shoulder. She wraps her free arm around his shoulders, tugging him in closer. 

(He can't remember the last time he was so _radiantly_ happy.) 

"You never answered my question," Rey says after a pause. 

"You never asked me a question, sweetheart," Poe counters, his face flushing. _She has no idea._

"Yes, I did. I asked-oh. I guess I didn't." Now it's Rey's turn to blush. "I was going to ask what brought you out here." 

"What, can I not just want to see you?" He nuzzles the side of her neck. 

"Oh." Rey squeezes his shoulder, flushing. "That's...nice." 

"You know what else would be nice?" Poe finds himself saying before he can even think about it. 

"What?" Rey asks, leaning back against him. 

"If you married me." 

_Wait, what?_ Poe's face suddenly feels hot. _Where did that even come from? This was supposed to be romantic-_

"What?" Rey giggles. _(Giggles -_ he doesn't know if he's ever heard her giggle before. He decides he likes it.) "Where is this coming from?" 

_Oh._

_OH.  
_

Only then does it hit him that he's _done_ it now, and he's got to follow through. He fumbles with the chain around his neck. "Um. Sorry, that was supposed to be romantic," he mutters, finally managing to pull off the chain. He holds it out to her as if it'll explain itself _(really, Poe?)._ "Uh. Will you...um...marry me?"

"Of course, Flyboy." Now she's looking directly at him, and there's a little quiver in her voice. She's smiling as if she can't quite believe it, and Poe is _sure_ he's about to catch fire. "It's just...you have a funny way of asking." 

"I know, I know. It was supposed to be romantic," he explains, talking too fast, his voice shaking. He sets the chain holding the ring around her neck, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. "But...it kinda just...happened?" 

"You think too much," she replies, leaning in to kiss him. 

(He feels as if there should be fireworks. At least a little music. But this moment has to be close to perfect.)

"Hey, at least we're not running for our lives," he mutters after she pulls back. 

Rey laughs again. (He has no idea how he survived an entire lifetime of never hearing that sound.) "What?" 

"Remind me to tell you that story later," he says. 

"How about now? We've got time." She plays with the ring, leaning against his chest. 

And they do. All the time in the world.

So he begins.


End file.
